CHAPTER XII.

It remained calm all that day, and the two vessels were in close proximity. Miss Waters sat aft under an awning rigged over the after part of the poop and gazed down at the smooth surface of the sea. Small objects went floating slowly downward through the clear medium, sending scintillating rays of light as they twisted with the motion. I found time to do some work upon the wheel gear, for the calm weather permitted the unreeving of the tackles as the vessel would not steer. Between times I had a small chance to sit upon the taffrail and answer certain questions that only a mate is expected to answer to passengers. Miss Waters seemed preoccupied and took more than usual interest in the movements of Brown, who seemed willing to aid me in my work by keeping as close to me as possible.{142} Twenty-five feet beneath the surface of the sea the keel of the Arrow showed above the void beneath all. Miss Waters was gazing down absently into the depths when she suddenly made out a vague form, brownish yellow in the light, as all objects appear at great depths. The form grew larger, undulating, waving, but steadily increasing in size. Then, at a depth of about fifty feet the shape of a giant turtle appeared.

“Look,” she cried, “what a monster! What can it be?”

Brown looked over the rail, but failed to make the animal out. I saw the turtle would come to the surface, and called two men to get a boat ready.

“Looks like a logger-head,” I said, “and, if you care to, you can have the sport of catching him.”

“I certainly will, then,” she cried, and sprang up ready to get into the small boat. Crojack hardly liked the proceedings, but I made it all right with him by a promise of a fine turtle steak for supper. Then, getting the whale-irons, of which we had{143} two aboard, into the small boat, I called Brown and two men to get into her, and we were soon alongside the Arrow.

“Come,” I said to Miss Waters, “let us see what kind of a sailor you are, for, if you can get in and out of a small boat while the Arrow is rolling in this swell, you can prove yourself.”

She sprang instantly into the mizzen channels, disdaining the help offered by Crojack, and then dropped lightly into the small boat’s bottom. We were all ready and shoved clear of the ship’s side.

The turtle had risen to the surface of the sea about ten fathoms distant, but, on seeing the ship and hearing the noise, he had sounded again. However, I knew he would soon reappear, and I forthwith made my way forward and made an iron ready for him. We rowed silently over the oily ocean, keeping a sharp lookout for the game. The two ships seemed suddenly very small and distant, and the vastness of the sea became apparent. It is always that way, and when a person has never been upon the broad sea{144} in a small boat, the very greatness of the surrounding space affects one. Miss Waters seemed subdued, and I noticed that she was gazing anxiously now and then at the Arrow that lay wallowing and rolling like a log.

“I don’t think we better go too far away, do you?” she asked.

“That turtle will take us a long way before we get him,” I answered. “If you are afraid, we will go back.”

She blushed a trifle at this.

“We’ll not go back until you show us whether you are able to get him or not,” she said, with some spirit.

That settled it. We would get him if there was any show. I liked the spirit of the girl. Brown said nothing.

“Aye tank dat’s him, sur, right over dere t’ starboard,” said the Swede pulling the stroke oar. The head of the turtle rose slowly above the surface and remained there. We stopped the boat, and waited for him to get quiet before starting to creep upon him. Then, with great caution, we sent the craft drifting slowly toward him, the oars making{145} no noise. I held the iron ready, and waited until we were within a couple of fathoms. Then I plunged the weapon through his forward flipper, and it toggled fast. We had him.

But he was a determined monster, and he weighed nearly five hundred pounds. He started off across the ocean, and, in spite of all our efforts, we could not stop him. Hauling the line short, we poked him and jabbed him with the boat-hook, but he heeded this very little, keeping his head well down and drawn in out of the way. All the time he swam vigorously with his flippers, and we found that we were gradually getting a long way from the ship.

“If we only had something to kill him with,” said Brown.

“Aye tank I do it, den,” said the Swede, who had been most interested in the affair; “I catch ’em in de old country—so.”

He drew his sheath-knife and lashed it firmly upon the butt-end of the boat-hook. Then he went forward and leaned over the bow, while we hauled the boat as close to{146} the turtle as we could. Watching his chance, the sailor made a lunge, and drove his blade through the creature’s neck. This had the effect of slowing down his efforts, although it far from finished him. Wounded and harassed as he now was, we gained upon him, and in ten minutes had him landed safely in the bottom of the boat, although he almost swamped the craft in his final struggles.

“He’s big and ugly enough for anything,” said Miss Waters. “Do you mean to eat the monster?”

“He will make excellent steak for all hands,” I answered. “However, if you don’t like him, we might swap some of him for a piece of fresh pork. They have pigs aboard the Countess of Warwick, and Garnett told me they would probably kill one to-day. What do you say, shall we go aboard of her?”

“By all means. I would like nothing better,” she answered.

I looked at the cloudless sky. There was not the slightest sign of a breeze. I determined to risk old man Crojack’s wrath.{147} Then I remembered that I was responsible for the young woman. I had taken her out upon the open ocean almost without her uncle’s consent. We had drifted over a mile from the ship, and, although the weather promised to remain calm and clear, we were on the edge of the equatorial belt, and squalls would soon be of hourly occurrence.

“I reckon we better not go aboard her without first getting the captain’s permission,” I said.

“I suppose you are afraid to,” she answered. “Two officers in one small boat, and not able to do things without permission.”

“I take no responsibility at all,” said Brown, “but I think Mr. Gore is right. Better keep on the good side of the old man, and we may be able to go again to-morrow.”

“A man who is good because afraid to be bad is a mighty mean fellow, I allow,” I said; “but that isn’t the nature of the emotion which governs me in this case.”

“You have so many queer emotions, I hardly know what to think at times,” she{148} answered; “but, if you want to go back aboard the Arrow, why, go ahead. I’m simply a passenger. And then, I’m not especially fond of pork, even if we haven’t had fresh meat for a month or two.”

“Nevertheless, you shall have some to-morrow, if they do their killing,” said Brown. “As for me, I’ll eat turtle. One don’t get good fresh turtle every day. Besides, the day after to-morrow is Thanksgiving Day.”

“The pig is the turkey of the seamen,” I said, and I noticed the face of the Swede pulling the stroke oar beam in anticipation. “They’ll certainly kill pork soon on board that ‘Johnny Bull.’ It’s a pity the old man didn’t bring something besides those stringy fowls along with him.”

“It seems so funny to have Thanksgiving with a temperature of ninety, and with thin linen clothes,” said Miss Waters. “I’d forgotten all about it.”

We came alongside the Arrow, and a line of heads poked over the waist, for the men had seen our catch and were curious. A{149} tackle soon heaved the turtle on deck and then we followed, but I left the small boat to tow astern in a most unseamanlike manner, for I had plans for the morrow.